Apparatus for scooping citrus peel



April 20, 1954 E. A. snfzLE 2,675,842

APPARATUS FOR SCOOING CITRUS PEEL Filed D60. l2, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet lApril 20, 1954 E. A. slLzLE APPARATUS FOR SCOQPING CITR'JS PEEL 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 12, 1949 E72( SLZLE',

IN VEN TOR. il

April 20, 1954 E'. A. slLzLE APPARATUS FOR SCOOPING CITRUS PEEL FiledDec. 12, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 E. a M p. a m

INVENTOR.

Patented Apr. 20, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 7 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for scooping citrus peel.

In the manufacture of marmalade, preserves, oandied peel, etc. fromcitrus peel and in the prep aration of citrus peel products used inHavering, the conventional practice is to remove the pulp or rag of thepeel shell after the juice has been removed from half of a fruit. Theremoval of unwanted material after the juicing operation has customarilybeen performed by hand, and such work is slow, tedious and costly. Therag remaining Within the peel half shell after the juicing operationgenerally comprises portions of the section coverings which originallysurrounded the juice sacs in the Whole fruit, together with portions ofthe central bundle of bers which normally extend through the fruitaxially from the stem end to the blossom end. The rag may also includecertain of the juice sacs which remain after the major portion of thejuice is extracted. In the manufacture of niarmalade, preserves, candiedpeel, etc. it is desirable to remove all of the rag but to leave as muchof the albedo as possible. In the manufacture of flavorings such as, forexample, lemon rind avoring, it may be desirable to remove part of thealbedo as Well.

It is a particular object of this invention to provide improvedapparatus for scooping citrus peel.

Another object is to provide a device employing a rotary cutter adaptedto extend into the peel half shell, together with a. feed wheel grippingthe exterior surface of the half shell to progress the shell over therotating cutter.

Another object is to provide a novel form of feed Wheel. s

Another object is to provide a cup-shaped` rotaryr cutter.

Another object is guide which assists in progressing the shell withrespect to the rotating cutter and which acts as Ya guard to preventaccidental injury to the lingers parts being shown in section. .Y Y

to provide a novel form ofl Figure 3 is a side elevation partly insection.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the middle plane of the feed wheeland showing the cooperative action of the rotary cutter guard and feedWheel.

Figure 5 is a sectional detail taken substantially on the lines 5-5 asshown in Figure 3.

Figure 6 is a front elevation of the guard.

Referring to the drawings, the base It rests i, on a suitable support Hand is adapted to supadapted to turn a driven pulley l5 by means of a Vbelt IE. The driven pulley l5 is carried on a spindle il' rotatablymounted in suitable bearings (not shown) provided in the housing I8. Thebearing housing I8 is not mounted directly on the frame it, but on thecontrary is fastened by means Vo clips i9 to a carrier frame 2t. carrierframe 20 is pivotally supported by means of the pivot bolts 2i whichextend through downwardly projecting ears 22'nxed on the hase E63. A Ushaped member 23 fixed on the base lil forms a stationary abutment for`the lower end of the expansion coil spring 24.'

A bolt 25 extends through the spring 2e and through apertures 26 and 21provided in the carrier frame and member 23 respectively. The spring 24acts resiliently to move the carrier frame in a clockwise directionabout the pivot bolts 2l as viewed in Figure 3, and this action islimited by the bolt and its cooperating nut 28. Turningof the nut on thebolt serves to adjust the relative angular position of the carrier frame2B. A driving gear 25 is fixed on the forward end of the spindle Il andmeshes with a driven gear 30 which is connected to drive the rotarycutter 3l. 'As clearly shown in Figure 4 the rotary cutter 3l, Vgear 3Sand collar Y32 are connected by screws 33 so that the parts Y rotate asa unit. A stationary bearing sleeve 3d is supported in positionV bymeans of the threaded element 35 which is in turn supported on the upperend of the bracket 35 mounted at the forward end of the carrier frame2p.. A suitable lubricating fitting 3l may be provided for introducinglubricant under pressure through the rotary cutter 3| and gear 30 sothat it may find its Way to the bearing surfaces provided between thecollar 32 and the stationary bearing 3:3. From the above description itwill be understood that the rotation of the motor .shaft I3 serves todrive the spindle il, gears 29 and and the rotary cutter 3l.. g v

A worm pinion 38 fixed on the forward end of the motor shaft I3 isarranged to drive the worm wheel 39 fixed on the feed shaft 40. Suitablesupporting bearings 4|, 42 and 43 are mounted on the base I and areadapted to rotatably support the feed shaft 4D. Fixed on the feed shaft40 between the bearings 42 and 43 is a feed wheel assembly generallydesignated at. This assembly includes a pair of duplicate resilienthalves cooperating to form the central grooved wheel 45, together with apair of nonresilient flanges 46 and 4'| which are flared axially awayfrom the wheel 45 as shown at 48. Axially extending pins 49 may beprovided on the flanges 46 and 47, and these pins are received withinsuitable holes 50 provided in the resilient feed wheel 45. The surfaceof the wheel 45 may be roughened as shown at The grooved center of thefeed wheel 45 is such that the rotary cutter 3| extends into the groove.The cutter 3| preferably rotates on an axis which is at right angles butdoes not intersect the axis of the feed shaft 45. A guard generallydesignated 52 is provided with a base portion 53 having a pair of slots54 through which may extend clamping bolts 55. The bolts 55 are mountedon the carrier frame 25. The horseshoe-shaped extension 56 secured tothe base portion 53 extends upwardly into a position closely adjacentthe upper portion of the rotary cutter 3|. Serrations 51 may be providedon the outer curved portion of the extension and these serrationspreferably slant in a direction opposite to the slant of the teeth 58formed on K the rim of the cutter 3|. As shown clearly in Figure 2, thecutter 3| and the groove 59 of the feed wheel 45 cooperate to define anarcuate opening E0. The upper curved portion 55 of the guard 52 followsthe outline of the cutter and does not obstruct the opening 50. It willbe noted that a central aperture SI is formed within thehorseshoe-shaped portion 5S of the guard.

The half shell 62 of a citrus fruit such as, for example, an orange or alemon from which the juice has been previously extracted is manuallypositioned on the guard so that it extends into the gap 60. As clearlyshown in Figure e, the grooved surface of the feed wheel 45 grips thefiavedo 63 or outer surface of the half shell 52. The cutter teeth 58cut into the inner white layer or albedo 64 and scoop out the sectioncoverings, central bundle, etc. within the albedo which is genericallytermed the rag 65. The feed wheel assembly 44 revolves slowly so thatthe half section 62 is progressed over the rotating cutter 3l. The teeth58 remove all of the rag |55 and as much of the albedo 64 as desired.The bolt 25 and nut 28 provide an adjustment for moving the cutter 3|toward and away from the feed wheel assembly 44 so that an accurateadjustment is provided for the desired thickness of the albedo. Theserrations 5'| in the guard 55 assist the roughened portion 5| of thefeed wheel 45 in preventing the citrus half shell from turning with thecutter 3| It will be noted that the cutter 3| is cupshaped and thebottom flange thereof is xed to the gear 3G, while the forwardlydirected rim is provided with the teeth 58 on the outer edge. As the ragand portion of the albedo are removed from the half shell by the actionof the cutter teeth this material is deflected toward the center of therotating cutter 3| and returns forwardly through the aperture 6| in theguard 52 in a direction shown by the arrow 56. This material which hasbeen removed falls down the face of the guard portion 53 and iscollected in any suitable way. The half shell turns about the cutter,and this motion occurs about a major diameter of the half shell. Afterthe half shell has passed completely through the gap @il it also fallsinto a suitable container or onto a moving conveyor (not shown).

A water pipe El having a flow control valve Sii is adapted to deliver astream of water against the backside of the feed wheel l5 via the nozzle69. This serves to keep the roughened portions of the wheel groove clearof bits of rag, peel, etc. and insures optimum contact of the feed wheeland citrus half shells. Considerable variation in size of fruit ispermissible since the resilient walls of the feed wheel permitrelatively large fruit half shells to pass over the cutter. The spring24 also allows the cutter to move away from the feed wheel in order thatlarge fruit may be processed. In order that a single machine may be usedeffectively on lemons, oranges and grapefruit, however, it is necessaryto provide feed wheels and correspond ing cutters and guards for each ofthese species of citrus fruit.

Having fully described my invention, it is to be understood that I donot wish to be li' d to the details herein set forth, but my inventio'is of the full scope of the appended claims.

l. claim:

l. In a device for scooping the interior of :i substantiallyhemispherical citrus peel sheii, the combination of a feed wheel havinga circumferential groove in its radially cuter shaped to grip theexterior surface ci -L rotary cutter adapted to extend into the groove,drive for said rotary cutter exten-:inf: therewith into said groove, theaxes of rot of the feed wheel and cutter being at substantially rightangles but not intersecting, the rotary cutter having peripheral cuttingteeth de iining a plane passing approximately thrcugu the axis of saidfeed wheel.

2. In a device for scooping the interior of substantially hemisphericalcitrus peel shell, the combination of a resilient feed wheel having acircumferential groove in its outer periphery shaped to grip theexterior surface of the shell, a rotary cutter adapted to extend intothe groove, the rotary cutter having peripheral cutting teeth defining aplane passing approximately through the axis or" said feed wheel, theaxes of rotation of the feed wheel and cutter being at substantiallyright angles but not intersecting the rotary cutter having peripheralcutting teeth dening a plane passing appro imately through the axis ofsaid feed wheel, the feed wheel and cutter cooperating to denne anarcuate opening through which the peel shell may be progressed.

3. In a device for scooping the interior of portion of the shell of acitrus fruit, the combina tion of a rotary cutter adapted to enter thesh e? the cutter having an annular rim and forw projecting teeth on itsrim, a guard positioned adjacent to and in advance of the cutter teethand having its upper portion curved to conform to the outline of thecutter, the guf fmember having an opening through which n .v pass ragmaterial removed from the shell by the rotary cutter.

4. In a device for scoopingthe interior of portion of the shell of acitrus fruit, the combination of a rotary cutter adapted to enter theshell.

the cutter having an annular rim and forwardly projecting teeth on itsrim, a guard member positioned in advance of the cutter teeth and havingits upper portion curved to conform to the outline of the cutter, saidupper portion having teeth slanting in a direction opposite to thedirection of rotation of the cutter.

5. In a device for scooping the interior of a portion of the shell of acitrus fruit, the combination of a rotary cutter adapted to enter theshell, the cutter having an annular rim and forwardly projecting teethon its rim, a guard member positioned in advance of the cutter teeth andhaving its upper portion curved to conform to the outline of the cutter,the guard member having an opening through Which'may pass rag materialremoved from the shell by the rotary cutter, the guard member and cutterbeing mounted for lateral movement as a unit in a direction transverseto the cutter axis.

6. A machine for removing the rag from the half shell of citrus fruit,comprising: a feed Wheel having a peripheral groove of semicircularcross section to conform to the exterior of a half shell of citrusfruit; a cutting disk adapted to t Within a half shell of citrus fruitand having teeth facing the direction of rotation of said Wheel anddisposed in said, groove to define a semicircular channel for passage ofa half shellV of citrus fruit; means for rotating said cutting disk in aplane approximately coincident to the axis of said feed Wheel; and asemicircular guard disposed in advance of said cutting disk andapproximately conforming to the contour thereof.

7. A machine for removing the rag from the half shell of citrus fruit,comprising: a feed Wheel having a peripheral groove of semicircular 6cross section to conform to the exterior of a half shell of citrusfruit; said feed Wheel being formed of rubber-like yieldable material,the axial extremities of said Wheel defining the sides of peripheralgroove forming axially yieldable rims, axially fiared end platescovering the extremities of said Wheel to limit axial displacement ofsaid. rims; a cutting disk adapted to t Within a half shell of citrusfruit and having teeth facing the direction of rotation of said Wheeland disposed in said groove to define a semicircular channel for passageof a half shell of citrus fruit; means for rotating said cutting disk ina plane approximately coincident to the axis of said feed Wheel; and asemicircular guard. disposed in advance of said cutting disk andapproximately conforming to the contour thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 501,404 Brenner July 11, 1893 1,370,634 Dowson Mar. 8, 19211,401,832 Taylor Dec. 27, 1921 1,512,410 Eldridge Oct. 21, 19241,631,854 Carroll June 7, 1927 1,970,274 Brown Aug. 14, 1934 2,212,925Polk, Sr. et al Aug. 27, 1940 2,309,328 Polk Sr. et al Jan. 26, 19432,365,358 Rector Dec. 19, 1944 2,533,350 Cahill Dec. 12, 1950 2,562,818Polk, Sr. et al July 3l, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date388,933 Great Britain Mar. 9, 1933

